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SO the news is out, I am indeed seeking the nomination for Stirling constituency for the Westminster election if the local SNP members will have me. There has been lot of uncertainty in my life but I’ve reached the view over the last few years that the big argument on Scotland in Europe that we need to win is not in fact in Brussels, nor Scotland, but the place where the problem is – Westminster.

What a week! The Government keeps losing votes, MPs, longstanding members and support. Even the Prime Minister's brother has deserted him.

It is clear that this Government is focused on getting Brexit over the line at any cost, because Boris Johnson has invested so much of his personal political capital in doing so. It doesn’t matter that two of the four constituent parts of this United Kingdom voted to Remain in the EU, doesn’t matter that the vote three years ago was narrow and plagued with concerns over legalities and around the information available, doesn’t matter that the current Prime Minister himself was hauled up by the UK statistics authority for a “clear misuse of official statistics”. There is a core gang in Downing Street willing to put the no deal gun to the collective head of the UK and tell the EU “we’ll do it”.

Alyn Smith has contacted all branches and the Constituency Association of Stirling SNP to seek the nomination for the Stirling Westminster seat at the next General Election. He confirmed he is approved vetting and his application letter is reproduced below.

First things first, the behaviour of the UK Government this week is completely outrageous.

There is no way to get around the fact that an executive that was elected by a small minority of Tory party members is trying to stifle a UK Parliament that was democratically elected.

Having said that, we all need to keep our heads and work this through. The mechanics of this are unchanged. The options remain: deal, no deal or revoke. Our preference is for the latter but whatever happens one of those three must be picked. Extending Article 50 is an option, and may be necessary to avoid no deal, but it is not a longterm answer.

So this week the UK Government announced that its officials will stop attending most EU meetings as of the beginning of September. To be clear, this madness is simply pandering to Tory back benchers. By not attending meetings the UK deliberately cuts itself off from decision making and reduces its influence in the EU.

Remarkably, the Government has decided to give its voting rights to the current holder of the presidency of the EU, Finland. A country of 5.5 million people, strikingly similar to the population of Scotland. There are better options for us and we need to keep everything on the table at the moment. You can read more here:euractiv.com/...

So amidst the noise, silly season rumours, and gossip of the summer it is worth stepping back this week and looking at the bigger picture for a moment. Whatever the debates about what the EU should and shouldn’t be doing there has always been one thing at its core: trade.

The EU is one of the world’s largest trading blocs (by some counts the world’s largest, it all depends on how you measure trade). This matters as it means that – in the dog eat dog domain of the World Trade Organization – we stand together, ensuring our voice is heard. The brutal reality is that once you are in Geneva, size and negotiating power are all that matter. The EU delivers for Scotland because it is such a big trading bloc.

You can see this in the deals it is currently negotiating. Now as many of you know, we in the SNP have had our issues with some of the EU’s trade deals, but the reality is they are infinitely better than anything the UK could negotiate alone. Just one example is that earlier this week Australia released the list of geographic protections that the EU is seeking to secure. Guess what? Scotch Beef, Scotch Lamb, Scottish farmed Salmon and Scotch Whisky are all on it.dfat.gov.au/...

BRITISH exceptionalism has become a buzzword in recent years, as a cause of Brexit for some academics and in the pages of the Telegraph as a justification for why Brexit will be a rip-roaring success. I confess I have some sympathy for the view that some who have spent their careers within the SW1 bubble have developed an over-entitled sense of history.

The team of SNP Members of the European Parliament have backed the successful EU Commission President, Mrs Ursula von der Leyen in her election in Strasbourg. Dr von der Leyen was elected by 383 votes to 327.

SNP Member of the European Parliament Alyn Smith has, to warm applause, urged the European Union to "leave a light on" for Scotland to find our way back to the EU if we are removed against our democratic will. The intervention was applauded across the Chamber and by Presidents Tusk and Juncker.